According to Catholic News Agency the veneration of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, continues to grow. The apostate Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary, who is in heaven, acts as a mediator for the Church. Scripture teaches otherwise. According to Hebrews 5:5, 6 the only One who acts as a mediator between man and God is Jesus Christ who alone is the high priest. We learn in Hebrews 9:14-15, 10-14 that the blood of Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of mankind. 1 Timothy 2:5–6 confirms this: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
On Tuesday the Vatican announced the themes for the next three World Youth Day encounters, which are focused on Mary and form the basis of a spiritual journey culminating in the next global encounter in Panama in 2019.
A Nov. 22 Vatican communique revealed that the themes for 2017 and 2018 diocesan-level events as well as the international gathering in 2019 will all be taken from Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke, centering on Mary in the scene of the Annunciation and her Magnificat, spoken after her cousin Elizabeth’s declaration that “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
